


Nu Solus

by Starofwinter



Category: Star Wars Legends: Republic Commando Series - Karen Traviss
Genre: Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Post-Order 66
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 09:47:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11643990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starofwinter/pseuds/Starofwinter
Summary: Ordo and Sev have a lot in common.





	Nu Solus

Sev notices it first, as soon as Ordo stops eating.  He looks pale and exhausted, but he tends to look that way more often than not.  Sev understands that.  They’re all coming back from the war in their own ways, but he gets the feeling this is something more.  So when he sees Ordo withdrawing from the big, boisterous group dinner, before anyone can notice he hasn’t even touched the tiny amount of food he took, he follows him out to the porch to watch the stars.  “You want to be alone, or are they-” he gives a vague gesture in the direction of the shouting and laughter inside, “Too much?”

“Just a little loud,” Ordo says, his voice low, “You can stay if you want.”  Sev likes that about him.  Ordo’s quiet - he tends to get talked over, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders.  Needed to, as a captain, and now… whatever they are, they need a natural leader like him to make sure shit gets done.  Sev can see the stress of that wearing on him.  There’s no structure anymore, except what they make for themselves.  No missions to complete, no officers breathing down their necks, just them and empty days.  

Sev drops down onto the porch floor next to him.  “Too much time to think out here, yeah?  Not enough structure.  Too much shit going on to handle and not enough to keep your mind off it.”  He’s never really been tempted to take up smoking before - Vau had thrown a damned fit the day he came across Boss’ pack - but he’s never had the urge stronger than he does right now.  It would give him something to do, and he associates the smell of tabacc with the few moments of peace they’d had on Kamino or in the field.  If Boss was smoking, it meant they were safe for the time being.

But he doesn’t have a tabacc stick, and besides, he doesn’t want to leave Ordo alone.  The other commando grunts a little in agreement, before sighing.  “Can’t shake that feeling, you know?  Can get through a war without being scared - really scared, can’t-do-shit-about-it scared - but the second we get away to somewhere quiet…  Everything just comes crashing down.”  

“Yeah, too damned much to think about, and too fucking much time to think about it.”  Sev shifted a little, shoulder-checking Ordo.  “You’re not alone, vod.  Know that doesn’t fix it, but you got a lot of family here, and every damn one of us wants to help.  I know where you’re coming from, yeah?  When nothing helps and it feels like you’re choking on all the things that could go wrong all at once, and you can’t stop shaking, I get it.  You don’t have to carry it all on your own shoulders.  All you gotta do is reach out.”  He doesn’t know if he’s assuring Ordo of that or himself, or maybe both of them.

When he glances at Ordo, the ARC gives him a nod and squeezes his shoulder.  “Nu solus,” Ordo says, and Sev nods to him. 

They might still have a lot to work through, but they don’t have to do it alone anymore.


End file.
